1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to procedures and apparatus to assist in surgery which requires the penetration of a body part without permitting inflow or outflow of air, fluid, or other materials. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for remotely coring and cannulating a body part such as the heart, blood vessels, the stomach, intestines, and other body parts.
2. Description of Related Art
Historically, many treatments for severe forms of heart disease involved some form of open-heart surgery. Open-heart surgeries are historically costly, and generally require extended periods of convalescence. In addition, open-heart surgeries often require either large transfusions of blood to a patient, or the banking of the patient's blood in advance due to the significant blood loss often involved in the surgery.
Recently, in heart surgery and many other surgical procedures, less invasive surgical methods have been developed which require smaller incisions into a patient's chest cavity and result in less loss of blood. Such procedures often reduce the recovery time associated with a surgery, and may also improve the survival rate associated with the surgery.
One specific area of concern present in these and other procedures is the potential introduction of particles, such as air bubbles, clotted blood, or small pieces of tissue, into the bloodstream of the patient. Such debris may travel through the circulatory system of the patient and lodge in narrower vessels of tissues such as the brain, cutting off blood circulation. These “emboli” may cause severe complications, and even death.
Current procedures for heart surgeries including the implantation of left ventricular assist devices (LVAD), right ventricular assist devices (RVAD), total artificial hearts (TAH), as well as other devices, require major incursions into the patient's body and circulatory system. Generally, the patient's heart must be accessed through a large incision made in the patient's sternum. Such surgery is fraught with danger since it exposes the patient to a substantial risk of complications such as introduction of air into the circulatory system, bleeding, and infection. Such complications may result in serious patient injury or death.
Additionally, such implanted devices may require the insertion of a cannula in the heart to allow circulating blood to be channeled away from the heart. The implantation of a cannula requires that the heart be punctured or cored to allow placement of the cannula. This procedure, like the others mentioned above, has historically created a risk for patients. Thus, there is a need in the art for methods and apparatus for cannulating the heart and attaching a heart assist/replacement device that minimize the risk of introducing air into the patient's circulatory system, and reduce the high loss of blood also incident to such procedures.
In other medical procedures, organs such as the stomach, intestines, and blood vessels must be entered. As discussed with reference to heart-related procedures above, in many of these surgeries it is necessary to enter or exit other body parts without allowing fluid, air, or other materials to enter or exit the body part. Similarly, in such procedures it may be desirable to enter or exit the body part and install a cannula for further access. As with the heart-related surgeries discussed above, these surgeries have posed a serious risk to patients, and are also expensive and time-consuming.
Accordingly, it would be an advantage in the art to provide an apparatus for remotely coring a body part such as the heart, blood vessels, the stomach, intestines, and other body parts. It would be a further improvement to provide methods of using such an apparatus to core such a body part. It would also be an improvement in the art to provide a device for remotely cannulating a body part, including an apparatus for remotely cannulating a body part such as the heart, blood vessels, stomach, or intestines of a patient. It would be still another improvement in the art to provide methods for using such a device. It would also be an improvement in the art to provide remote cannulation apparatus that allow coring and/or cannulation of a body part while preventing the introduction of embolic materials into the patient and excessive loss of blood.
Such methods and apparatus are disclosed herein.